Best home audio system for around $1500?

I'm thinking about buying a new home audio system and I'm wondering what would be the best system that I could build for around $1500? It would be for a medium sized room and I would like it optimized for music and have tower speakers if possible...

Re: Best home audio system for around $1500?

You can easily put together a combination of components to make a decent sounding home audio system.

I would like to confirm if you are referring to a surround sound system, or a stereo system?

In either case, my advice is to concentrate on the most important part of the system, being the speakers, as they are your last source of information. The system source such as CD player or Blu-Ray player etc.. is next in the list of importance, and the amplifier or receiver being 3rd. in line.

Considering your budget and room size, and that you'd like to have tower speakers, I might recommend a package of speakers from Polk Audio, such as this 5.1 speaker package. Both the tower T600 and the bookshelf T300, can be bi-amplified, or bi-wired, for improved sound quality, and considering the price is within $1000, it leaves room for a nice receiver to match the speakers.I might also recommend that considering room size, you can achieve great results with many good quality bookshelf speakers, especially if they can be bi-amplified or bi-wired.

My first choice to match the tonal qualityof the Polk Audio speakers would be the Marantz NR-1607 receiver, keeping budget in mind, as you mentioned around $1500. The NR1607 is presently on sale so great time to jump on it {it may be available as special order at a nearby Best Buy store}, another choice would be the Marantz NR-1508 .

The Marantz line has several attributes such as very affluent power supply, Odyssey Sound Equalization, High Dynamic Amplifier Modules, Discrete circuitry, high end video processing and more, which is why I would choose it as a 1st. choice.

You might also consider Denon, however I feel that it's tonal quality will not match the Polk Audio, as favourably as Marantz.

A second choice of receivers would be Onkyo, such as the Onkyo TX-NR676, and TX-NR757, which offer amazing value and features for the price, including an excellant power supply and really good sound quality that would rival many other fine brands.

Onkyo also makes amazing stereo receivers that can be instrumental in a very versatile stereo system with Network capabilities.